Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 01/10/2013

World register of marine species. It is open data -you can download and use it. We are going to see a new world of open data where students are explorers. Do they know how to download and use it? Do you? The data divide will be there for kids who don't know how to analyze data on spreadsheets. This is part of the STEM future we should be moving towards. Why not start here?

No more calculators - as you know it. Write the equation - boom. This is coming... it is here. Things are changing and problems are getting easier (and harder) to solve. Take a look at this app on the droid.

I love if this then that and will be using at least one of the new triggers. If you star a gmail you can send to evernote, or wherever, for example. The gmail channel has some new triggers - this is great for someone like me using evernote to track projects.

A device can help children read in the real world -- this is augmented reality as it can be for kids and why handheld devices will be helpful. I think this won't replace parents but will augment their work, in a great play on words.
"Qualcomm text recognition technology called Vuforia. It works like a game, challenges kids to find words in the real world scenarios, like grocery shopping

Internet connected clothing. It will have privacy concerns, for sure and other issues. but if you want to keep your kids off facebook and Twitter, you might just have to rip that shirt right off their back.
An internet connected shirt could say where you are and do all kinds of things. While I'm not saying this is good or bad, we just need to come to grips with the ubiquity of the internet and social media surrounding us and realize that our problems are going to be complex but also our learning opportunities are going to be powerful. Personally, I don't think I'd want such a shirt, but that doesn't mean I won't have a kid wear one on a field trip and cause concerns as he tweets everywhere he goes while under my watch. ;-)

This isn't just about kitchens but about everything. Google is moving to have its OS put in Rice cookers, stovetops, fridges and more. Smart devices are soon going to be all around us as we touch, swipe, and eventually talk to everything around us. By putting droid on the things around us, we may want to, you guessed it, have a droid mobile,etc. to control them. There are going to be many gadgets and smart devices in our classrooms as well that will be coming out soon, so take note and look at these great pictures to help you visualize what could be. What a great idea for an invention project with students, have them invent a device using such a system.

Review of the $125 "kids tablet" from Polaroid - looks like the people at Engaget think it has a problem with fingerprints. Kids are going to be having tablets, we need to be ready to help them use them for school.

For those of you who love the Hulu app (like I do), a whole spate of executives are leaving the organization. Just keep an eye on it. Many of us are not using cable tv as much with services like Apple TV, Amazon, Neflix, iTunes, and Roku boxes serving up our tv via high speed internet.

The government allows document changes to happen via GitHub, demonstrating yet again, that those who know how to collaboratively edit will have power - even if it is to fix a typo, that power will transfer to the have and have nots. Not just have and have not access to technology, but have and have not the confidence to collaboratively edit and how that works and have and have not the ability to create a userid and get up to speed on such a platform. The digital divide is no longer a divide of Internet have and have nots but a divide in your mind. Are you able to cross the chasm that says you can edit a government document or will you sit back and shake your head? Move boldly into this future where we can all edit and be a part.

A man will spend 2 months in prison for less than 140 characters. With around 11,000 followers, the Emir of Kuwait isn't playing games. I think that such things just demonstrate how those who say they are "democracy loving" aren't really and make for interesting studies for students looking at social media.

Every Classroom Matters (Recent Shows)

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